Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Don't put off your surgery too long

Almost half of Australia's surgical work force is aged over 55 and planning to retire within the next 15 years, just as demand for health services from ageing baby boomers reaches its peak.

Only 16 per cent of surgeons are under 40, meaning there is no army of younger specialists to take over, a survey of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons' 3800 members has found...

"The issues are overwhelming," he said. "Seventy per cent of people who are alive today will be alive in 2050, a third of the population will be over 65 in the next decade and there is a worldwide shortage of medical practitioners."

I wonder how much room there is for changes to the training of surgeons. Are they overly conservative in that regard?

UPDATE: it turns out that an article in The Age today gives a lot of detail about the changes to surgeon training that are being mooted now.